{"id":4993,"date":"2026-09-27T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/?p=4993"},"modified":"2026-09-26T17:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T17:59:50","slug":"the-courage-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/2026\/09\/27\/the-courage-to-change\/benedictine-spirituality\/4993\/","title":{"rendered":"The courage to change."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Photo by Balint Miko on unsplash.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We prefer direct, simple answers, even when we know complex, nuanced responses are needed. We tend to assume it is weakness to change our minds rather than the result of further understanding or reflection. This approach has perhaps always been part of human experience, it speaks to a basic need for clarity and certainty.

In our own uncertain and fearful times this need for clarity and certainty has only increased. It sometimes feels that there is no space for people to reconsider or adjust their views or actions without being viewed at best with suspicion.

Today\u2019s gospel takes the opposite view. Jesus tells the story of two brothers, sons of a vineyard owners, who are both asked by their father to work in the vineyard. The first refuses to go, and walks off. The second agrees to go willingly but then doesn\u2019t:

\u201cMy boy, you go and work in the vineyard today.\u201d He answered, \u201cI will not go,\u201d but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, \u201cCertainly, sir,\u201d but did not go.\u201d<\/em>

Jesus asks: \u201cWhich of the two did the father\u2019s will?\u201d<\/em> The answer is clear. The first son, despite his initial refusal, is the obedient son. He is the one Jesus holds up as an example.

We don\u2019t know what made him change his mind, thinking better of his initial response and moving to a more generous position. Through his example Jesus reminds us that we are called to generosity and love, not to certainty. He offers us the opportunity for a second chance, to make more loving and generous responses than we might have initially.

Where is Christ offering you an opportunity to think better of some of your responses today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We prefer direct, simple answers, even when we know complex, nuanced responses are needed. We tend to assume it is weakness to change our minds rather than the result of further understanding or reflection. This approach has perhaps always been part of human experience, it speaks to a basic need for clarity and certainty. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,494,544,239,271,246],"tags":[28,18,53,223,376,448,172,6,8,33,229,13,29,15,219,10,956],"class_list":["post-4993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-benedictine-spirituality","category-christ","category-discernment","category-gospel","category-lectio-divina","category-scripture","tag-benedictine","tag-challenge","tag-christ","tag-christlike","tag-disciples","tag-discipleship","tag-father","tag-gospel","tag-hope","tag-kingdom","tag-kingdomvalues","tag-lectiodivina","tag-love","tag-newlife","tag-obedience","tag-trust","tag-vineyard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4993"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4998,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4993\/revisions\/4998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turveyabbey.org.uk\/pilgrimage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}